More Benguet towns, adapt resolutions for free dialysis

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – More Benguet towns and barangays adopted resolutions or support to the on-going campaign to make dialysis a free medical service in the country.

Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club Inc. (BCBC) moved the submission of the documents to President Rodrigo Duterte and other national government offices to a later date this week to accommodate more resolutions from other local government units as well as signatures being submitted by groups and individuals who volunteered to conduct their own initiatives. 

Even if the documents have been submitted, the signature campaign will go on to continue convincing the President, the Congress of the Philippines, Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Health and the PhilHealth that coming up with a unified program for free dialysis is the best way they can help the increasing number of patients relying on the emergency life-saving procedure but are continuously scrounging for funds to do so, BCBC outgoing president Ramon Dacawi said.

Last week, more signatures were received from the Benguet Renal Center Patients and Caregivers Association headed by Ariel Bastian, St. Louis University renal center, Kias barangay and the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) bringing the total signatures to roughly 40,000.

Bastian and his co-patients also forwarded copies of the resolutions of support to the campaign adopted by the provincial government of Benguet, municipalities of La Trinidad, Itogon, Kapangan, Buguias, Tublay, the Liga ng mga Barangay of La Trinidad and Buguias and the Sangguniang Barangay of barangays Puguis, Cruz and Poblacion all of La Trinidad town.

   The supporting measures were prompted by the association’s own resolution launching the signature campaign and which was submitted to all legislative councils in the barangay, municipal, city and provincial levels in Benguet province.

Prior to the drive’s launch, the city council of Baguio adopted a resolution to drum up support to the campaign. 

Dacawi called anew on LGUs in the provincial, city, municipal and even barangay levels to adopt their own resolutions of support which they may base on the BCBC resolution that can be downloaded from the petition posted at the website (www.change.org and search for free dialysis petition; or through the following link: www.change.org/p/urge-president-rodrigo-roa-duterte-make-dialysis-treatment-free-for-all-filipinos).

“LGUS that already adopted their resolutions are also requested to inform us and provide us copies for acknowledgment and inclusion in our documents and those with initiatives on the signature campaign kindly inform us at the PIO-CMO or email us at mondaxbench@yahoo.com, ” he said.

Sign-up sites for the campaign are at the city public information office and city councilors’ offices at the Baguio City Hall, PIA-CAR in front of the Mansion, Luisa’s Café along Session Road and the Baguio General Hospital dialysis section and Bookends book shop along Calderon St. – Aileen P. Refuerzo